Injured Love
by elin2002
Summary: Takes place during the College Years episode when Zack gets hurt helping Mike with his try out...


_**(I don't own Saved by the Bell, I just own myself and many, many kitchen supplies. Takes place during the episode when the guys help Mike get in shape for his tryout.)**_

It started as a fun day, until they all decided to go after the same fumble. Now Zack was limping into the student health center, hoping Kelly wasn't working. He hadn't told Slater he was hurting; just told him he was going to run a quick errand and then he'd be back at the dorm.

Zack limped into the Health Center still hoping Kelly wasn't there but on the same hand hoping she was. She had been his rock during the physical therapy he went through when he hurt his knee in high school. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him and immediately became concerned.

"Zack what happened?"

"We were helping Mike with his tryout and I landed wrong."

"Is your knee okay?"

"I think so, but we might need another opinion."

"Well come on let's get you in an exam room." She said getting ready to take most of his weight off his leg.

"Kel, I love you. But the where the actual pain is I'd rather a guy."

"To bad I'm all you got right now and besides I helped you with PT among other things we've done. Deal with it. Put this on I'm going to go get Dr. Wong. She made sure he listened to her and then left the room where she immediately found Dr. Wong.

"Dr. Wong?"

"Yes Kelly?"

"My friend Zack is here in room 1 with an injury."

"What happened?" Said Dr. Wong seeing that Kelly was worried.

"He was helping a friend with a football tryout and landed wrong. Usually it wouldn't bother me. I'd tell him he was being a baby and suck it up. But two years ago, he had knee surgery on the same leg."

"Do you remember who his doctor was?"

"Yes, Ma'am it was actually our friend's mother."

"Call her and see if she can somehow get us pictures so I have something to compare them to."

"I have them at the dorm. I'll call home and Dr. Turtle."

"Why do you have Zack's x-rays?"

"Zack and I have been together off and on the last 4 years and have been friends since kindergarten."

"Understood." Kelly quickly dialed the common room number.

"Hello?"

"Slater, good go in my closet, under my Bayside sweatshirt is a large brown envelope. Grab it and bring it to the health center please?"

"What's in the envelope?"

"The x-rays from Zack's knee surgery."

"Why what's wrong?" Asked Slater suddenly worried and doing as Kelly asked.

"He got hurt playing with you guys today." Said Kelly in a clipped tone.

"Kelly, he said he was fine and was going to run errands when he left us."

"Slater, he said that when he busted it two years ago, and needed full blown surgery. I have to call Lisa's mom. I'll yell at you later."

"Bye."

"Palisades Hospital Nurses' Station."

"Hi my name is Kelly Kapowski calling from CalU Student Health Center I need to speak with Dr. Turtle."

"Dr. Turtle is heading in to speak with a patient can I take a message?"

"Can you get her please, tell her Kelly's on the phone about Zack. She'll understand." She heard the annoyed nurse tell Dr. Turtle and heard the phone switch hands.

"Kelly? Honey what's wrong?"

"Zack was playing football with the guys and injured that leg. I have the x-rays but Dr. Wong needs the records."

"I'll fax them over immediately."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Is he okay?"

"He says he is. He says the pain is in his thigh, maybe I'm worrying for nothing."

"Kelly, you guys know each other well enough to know when you should be worrying. Did he seem fine?"

"He was limping and holding his leg."

"Then he's not fine, call me later when you have a diagnosis."

"You got it."

"Hey where is he?" Asked Slater coming in and handing her the envelope.

"Room 1." Said Kelly not happy.

"Can I go in?"

"Yeah." Said Kelly walking off to give the x-rays to Dr. Wong.

"Hey." Slater said stepping into the room.

"Hey, where's Kelly?"

"Walked off with your old x-rays."

"She's mad." Said Zack simply.

"Ya think? I haven't seen her this ticked since student/teacher week. Why didn't you tell us you were hurt?"

"Cause I thought I could walk it off."

"Is it your knee?"

"No, its higher up."

"Hey we're gonna take you for a x-ray." Said Kelly coming in.

"Don't be mad please?" He said taking hold of her hand.

"I'm trying. But you have to take it easy sometimes."

"I will let's go get the x-ray so we can go home and you can fix it."

"X-ray first." Said Kelly helping him on to the stretcher. Within the hour, the x-rays done Dr. Wong and Kelly stood looking at them.

"These are the old ones, these are the new ones. What do you see?"

"Pulled muscle?"

"Pulled groin muscle." Said Dr. Wong with a small smile at Kelly rolling her eyes.

"Oh, that'll be fun." Said Kelly quietly.

"Heat 15 minutes, 15 minutes rest, 15 minutes ice."

"Gotcha, guess he's sleeping on the couch for the next couple days."

"His bed will probably be more comfortable." Said Dr. Wong as Kelly shook her head.

"Top bunk." Said Kelly with a smile, the doctor and student then walked into the room. Seeing Slater had already left.

"Good news Zack, it's only a pulled groin muscle." Said Dr. Wong. "Ice, heat, rest."

"And a heavy dose of aspirin." Said Zack with a smile.

"Yeah." Said Dr. Wong. "Kelly take him home. Make sure he follows orders."

"Yes Ma'am. Get dressed I'm going to go grab my stuff."

"Yeah that won't hurt like hell."

A while later Kelly had Zack settled on the couch and he was passed out. She didn't know if it was from the pain or the work out. She just knew she needed to minimize the pain later. She went and grabbed the icy hot she kept on hand. She learned in high school it was the best thing for the amount of sports injuries she, Zack, and Slater had even going as far as taking a sports massage class not long after Zack's surgery and helped get him to physical therapy after.

"Hey Slater, can you help me a sec?"

"Yeah. What do you need?" He said coming into the room.

"I gotta wake him up. But then I need you to help me move his legs so I sit under them."

"Gotcha." He knew how to do this without causing too much pain to his friend having helped minimally due to his own school and sports schedule a couple years ago.

"Zack?" Said Kelly gently.

"Yeah?"

"Come on move your legs so I can sit under them, I have to get the icy hot on you."

"It hurts." He said.

"I know, Slater's gonna help you."

It took a few minutes for Kelly to get comfortable, she was thankful she made him change into basketball shorts before he laid down.

"Need anything?" Asked Slater with a smile.

"Nope thanks though."

"I'll be in my room."

Kelly started slow, she hated hearing him in pain but knew in the long run it would help him. She massaged the area that hurt the most and then worked his knee out of habit. Once she had finished she looked over him and saw he had once again fallen asleep.

"Slater!" She loudly whispered.

"Yeah."

"Help." She said with a smile.

"Why didn't you move before he passed out?"

"Cause I didn't realize he had."

Slater lifted Zack's legs by the ankles gently just enough for Kelly to move her legs onto the couch.

"Want help off?"

"No, I'm good." Kelly said as she laid down using Zack's shoulder as a pillow and fell asleep. Slater then went and retrieved Zack's comforter and covered his friends.

About an hour later Alex and Leslie came home and saw them and went to find Slater or Screech.

"Hey, what's up with Zack and Kelly?" Asked Alex.

"Zack got hurt when we were helping Mike today." He said shutting the door.

"Is he okay?" Asked Leslie silently wondering how that got to the point where Kelly was laying with him.

"Pulled muscle, Kel's got him. She knows what she's doing."

"Kelly's a freshman pre-med he needs a real doctor." Said Leslie.

"He saw Dr. Wong. Kelly took classes in high school for physical therapy. She knows what she's doing."

"Why did she take PT classes?" Asked Alex.

"Zack got hurt before a basketball game junior year, needed PT. Plus with all the sports we played it came in handy trust me."

Zack woke up a while later and noticed a familiar head of brunette hair laying on him and moved his hand to stroke her arm that was thrown over his stomach. He felt the change in her breathing as she woke up.

"Hi."

"Hi, how's your leg?"

"Okay, I think the aspirin is going to wear off soon." She sat up briefly to look at the clock in the kitchen and laid back down.

"You can take another dose now. So, you're sleeping in my room and I'll crash on the couch." She asked.

"I'm only sleeping in your bed if you're with me."

"Okay, I'm hungry are you?"

"Yeah."

"Stay there I'll grab something." She said gingerly getting up, she went to the fridge and grabbed the leftover pizza she had got the night before and heated up the last couple slices.

After the on/off couple ate Kelly applied another dose of icy hot to his leg and then led him over to her room.

"Kel, I'm just going to crash on the couch tonight."

"No, you aren't, you do that and you'll be stiff tomorrow."

"Kelly if I share a bed with you, it'll be a whole different kind of stiffness." He said with a small smile.

"Didn't bother me over the summer." He followed Kelly into the girls' room and sat down on her bed while she pulled out her pajamas and started to get changed.

"Those are my sweats!" Said Zack as she pulled on a pair of Bayside sweat pants that were easily three sizes too big.

"These are mine Zack."

"Those are mine Kelly, they mysteriously disappeared from my suitcase the night before I left."

"I don't know what you're talking about these are mine." She said putting on her cut up Bayside sweatshirt fully knowing that it turned Zack on to see her in it. She then laid down beside him spooning into him making sure not to jostle his leg. This is how Leslie and Alex found them when they came in to go to bed. What they didn't know was under the covers Zack's hand had found its way up the front of Kelly's shirt and rested on her breast. She figured this is why he loved this sweatshirt there wasn't a lot of fabric to maneuver around. The next morning Leslie and Alex headed out into the living room and Slater smiled.

"Zack's snoring?"

"Zack doesn't snore." Said Leslie starting to make her coffee.

"Bull, I wear earplugs most nights." Said Slater.

"He wasn't snoring last night. I don't know what to tell you." Said Alex as Kelly came out of the room.

"You! What is your secret?"

"Good morning to you too, secret to what?"

"How did you make the human leaf blower stop snoring?"

"Uh-huh that's my secret." She said enjoying screwing with Slater after he helped get Zack hurt.

"Kelly please?"

"Get him on his side, or put pressure on his chest."

"Great." Said Slater knowing it was a couple thing. Zack then walked out of the room.

"Morning."

"Hey, how's the leg?" Asked Screech who had just got home from visiting Violet who was studying at UC-Berkley.

"Better. Not as stiff." He answered as Kelly gave him a cup of coffee.

"Think you need another round of icy hot?" She asked.

"Maybe later." He said kissing her cheek.

It was clear from that day on that Zack and Kelly were working their way to being fully back together that when they decided to get married a few months later they weren't as shocked just concerned. But they had made it work, just like they always had.

 **THE END**


End file.
